Japanese Internment Camps During Wwii Essay

2165 words - 9 pages

In many times throughout history groups of people have been discriminated against based on race or religion. These people receive inferior rights because of the discrimination. In some cases they do not get citizenship, in others they are segregated from others, and physically harmed. Two groups of people that faced discrimination near World War II (WWII) were the Jewish people and Japanese Americans. Both groups faced very different types of discrimination by different oppressors with different motives yet their treatment was very similar and many events paralleled each other. The treatment of Japanese in WWII internment camps was as harsh as the Holocaust's treatment of the Jewish people.

The lead up to the Japanese Americans internment took place over many decades leading up to WWII. It began in the middle of the 19th century with the gold rush taking place in California. A large number of immigrants were coming to California because of the gold rush. However the Japanese were not among them. This was because Japan would not allow their people to emigrate to other countries. However that changed in 1968. With Americans becoming agitated by the number of Chinese immigrants they easily accepted Japanese instead of the Chinese. The Japanese immigration peaked after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The large number of Japanese who came to America soon began to be segregated at every opportunity possible. Such as building different schools for Japanese after an earthquake destroyed the current one. Also a law was passed that did not allow Japanese to come to America unless they could become citizens. Also earlier laws made it so that Japanese had to

Imler 2
become citizens by being born in the United States (US). These two laws ended Japanese immigration to America in 1824. The Japanese press in America despised these laws. The Japanese hate from Americans now began to cool down until one event in the 1940s (Japanese Internment).

The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 restarted the hate on Japanese Americans. One Japanese boy, Ben Uchida, viewed himself just like everybody else before the bombing of Pearl Harbor:

I’d never thought I looked different from the other kids at school, even though most of them were Caucasian. But when I went to school the day after Pearl Harbor, I realized I did look different. My hair was black, my skin was darker, and my eyes were almond- shaped. My face was the face of the enemy. Just a few months later, we were told to pack just what we could carry, sell everything else, and get on a train that would take us to our new home (Bodart).

Also after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the US rounded up 1,500 people they viewed as dangerous. They interrogated them and if they were still dangerous they were sent to camps around the US to hold them. This was in fear of spies helping the Japanese in WWII (McGrath).

Imler 3
A few months later President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued...

Find Another Essay On Japanese Internment Camps during WWII

884 words - 4 pages
which ordered payments of 20,000 dollars to each of the 60,000 survivors. Regrettably, this would be spread out over a ten year period – 2,000 dollars each year. These survivors were already starting to die out, so most would never live long enough to receive the full amount.
In conclusion, internment camps – as well as how the Japanese-Americans were treated overall – was unnecessary and an overreaction to WWII. Most students do not have

931 words - 4 pages
The issues of Japanese-American internment camps is one of the most controversial, yet important time periods of American history. Many have asked: Why should we learn about this event? The event of Japanese-American internment camps has changed the way America and its citizens are looked upon. As Americans, this event is important to learn so that an injustice like this will never happen again in our history. This event has helped many people

1781 words - 7 pages
After the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, life in the U.S. had changed. It was the first time in a long time that America was attacked on its homeland. This national security threat was a big shock to the people. The Japanese had to suffer the consequences of their attack. Just as the Germans developed concentration camps for the Jewish during World War II, the Americans set up "relocation" programs better known as internment camps to keep

895 words - 4 pages
In this report I have chosen to talk about the Japanese- American internment during World War 2. I will discuss the events and actions leading up to the decision for the internment camps. I will then discuss the living arrangements of the camps. I will talk a little about the people who lived there and then I will give some facts about the camps and the Internment in the U.S. During World War 2 not just the Japanese but the American

1583 words - 6 pages
120,000 people of Japanese ancestry. More than two-thirds of those interned under the Executive Order were citizens of the United States, and none had ever shown any disloyalty (U.S.Com.).These detention camps were called Internment Camps. Merriam Webster gives the definition of Internment camps as a camp in which enemy aliens, prisoners of war, or others considered dangerous to pursuing a war effort are confined during wartime. Internment camps

949 words - 4 pages
Japanese interment camps, if you're like me, are unheard of. The camps happened during World War II. It was a sad situation that America seems to hide because there is no way to justify what they did. American citizens had their rights stripped away before their eyes. They were treated awful despite what the Constitution said.
Japanese interment camps began after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The repercussions of Pearl Harbor stereotyped

929 words - 4 pages
from war, Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadian citizens were forced into internment camps, resulting in a heightened sense of tension upon arrival home and finally the compensations of both US and Canadian governments
By 1942, the tensions of war had drastically impacted both American and Canadian communities. The spread of xenophobia, the fear of espionage and sabotage, had gripped both nations, bringing with it Anti-Japanese propaganda

1206 words - 5 pages
never hear about "unjust" racism in Chicago, but it was pretty bad, almost as bad as down in good old Louisiana, but do they want you to know that? No. In turn we have something that is virtually silent until one person actually searches for it, or takes AP American history in 11th grade. This would be the Japanese Internment camps. Places to keep the Japanese so they don't spread distress and destruction throughout the United States during

967 words - 4 pages
they came up with the Japanese Internment Camps to protect themselves.
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed order 9066; this ordered the Japanese Internment Camps. Ten internment camps were made where more than 110,000 Japanese Americans would be moved too. The camps were set up in blocks that contained fourteen barracks. The temperature of camps varied; most were located in deserts. The meals contained little food. The jobs were

2204 words - 9 pages
down the angle in which the Japanese internment is presented. I have personally felt like the American government has been delegitimized for having taken such actions. On the other hand, the events that occurred during WWII should not be whitewashed either. These are real things that happened to real people and should not be forgotten. There are lessons we can learn from the uproarious times in the 1940's, and rightfully so. Hopefully with our

990 words - 4 pages
How would you feel if you were forced out of your home to go to a camp where you shall be incarcerated for an unknown amount of time in an unknown location. You have no idea what will happen to you and your family. Why were you forced into the camps? Because of your ethnicity or beliefs. Japanese internment camps and Holocaust concentration camps both left their hateful marks in the fabric of history. During World War II, the Holocaust

Similar Essays

2117 words - 8 pages
Americans were not a threat to security, but due to fear, racism, and falsified reports of espionage (where the negative evidence was withheld to insure a guilty verdict), the internment camps were still implemented and supported (Le). There were also many other citizens not of the Japanese race that were involved in espionage and sabotage. Of the American spies during World War II, 83% were native born, and the majority were white males under the age of

837 words - 3 pages
useless. During WWII Canada could not afford to be wasting resources because it not only needed to support it self but also had to ship aids such as arms and ammunition, food and various military supplies to Great Britain.Canadian government didn't have a lot of options in this situation. The public, especially workers, had a very negative attitude towards Japanese and by taking no action the government risked loosing public support, an anti

590 words - 2 pages
The Japanese Internment During WWII In 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066 into law, which eventually forced close to 120,000 Japanese-Americans in the western part of the United States to leave their homes and move to one of ten 'relocation' centers or to other facilities across the nation. This order came about as a result of great prejudice and wartime hysteria after the bombing of Pearl

587 words - 3 pages
targeted by discrimination. What happened to the Japanese during World War II is no different; many Japanese and Japanese-Americans were discriminated against after Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941.On February 19, 1942, soon after the beginning of World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. The evacuation order commenced the round-up of 120,000 Americans of Japanese heritage to one of 10 internment camps officially